RVIA Economic Impact Study

The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association commissioned an Economic Impact Study on the RV industry, released on June 7, 2016. The study found that the RV industry contributes about $49.7 billion in economic output or 0.28 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Through its production and distribution linkages, the industry impacts firms in 426 of the 440 sectors of the United States economy.

Nationwide, the industry is responsible for 216,170 jobs, both directly and inderectly, creating an economic impact of $37.5 billion. The full study results, along with each individual state and congressional district's economic impact is available on the website by clicking here .

Camping World Faces Class Action Suit

Mon Nov 26, 2018Author: RV News Staff

Johnson Fistel LLP, a San Diego legal firm, announces filing of a class action suit against Camping World Holdings. The filing is on behalf of holders of Camping World’s Class A common stock during the period between March 8, 2017 and Aug. 7, 2018 (the "Class Period").

In October 2016, Camping World went public in a $261 million initial public offering. In the months that followed, the company engaged in a number of strategic acquisitions. Most significantly, in May 2017, Camping World announced it would be expanding its operations to include retail stores for outdoor sporting supplies and accessories by acquiring certain assets of Gander Mountain Co. ("Gander") from bankruptcy.

The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding Camping World's business, operations and financial condition. Specifically, the complaint alleges defendants failed to disclose, among other things, that the Company's disclosure controls and controls over financial reporting suffered from a host of material weaknesses; that the company's historical financial results had been materially misstated; that the Gander stores had encountered integration setbacks, adversely impacting the company's earnings growth and profit margins; and that the company's core RV business was experiencing decelerating growth as the they lagged industry trends and were losing market share to competitors.

As a result of this information being withheld from the market, the price of Camping World Class A common stock was artificially inflated to a high of $47.19 per share during the Class Period. The complaint charges Camping World, certain of its officers and directors and controlling shareholders with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

On Feb. 27, 2018, Camping World issued a release revealing that the company had "recently identified material weaknesses in [its] internal control over financial reporting." The release also revealed that Camping World would need to revise prior reporting periods due to various "errors." The cumulative impact of these misstatements required the company to restate and reduce its 2016 basic earnings per share from $0.11 per share to $0.08 per share, as the prior reported basic earnings per share had been overstated by more than 37 percent. Thereafter, on March 1, 2018, Camping World announced it would be unable to timely file its 2017 Form 10-K due to expected material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. On this news, between Feb. 26, 2018 and March 2, 2018, the price of Camping World Class A common stock dropped $4.63 per share, or more than 10 percent.

On May 8, 2018, Camping World reported disappointing financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, including a decrease in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin. In addition, the company revealed adverse trends in its core RV business indicating that it had lost significant market share to its competitors. On this news, the price of Camping World Class A stock fell 17 percent. On May 22, 2018, Camping World announced it had replaced its auditor of 13 years, causing the price of the stock to decline another 10 percent.

Then, on Aug. 7, 2018, Camping World reported disappointing financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, including adjusted EBITDA of only $140.2 million for the quarter, 9 percent below its previous guidance. In addition, Camping World revealed that its adjusted EBITDA margin had continued to deteriorate and had fallen 250 basis points year-over-year, while its same-store revenues had experienced a "modest decline," again underperforming the broader market. In addition, the company revealed that problems in its Gander operations were more extensive than previously disclosed. On this news, the price of Camping World Class A stock fell $3.17 per share, or 14 percent, to close at $19.04 per share on Aug. 8, 2018.

The plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Camping World Class A common stock during the Class Period.